


Sink or Swim

by FandomFeels17



Category: One Direction
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Car Accidents, Drunk Driving, M/M, Near Drowning, Water, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-17 18:23:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18103937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomFeels17/pseuds/FandomFeels17
Summary: He never thought a Dad could try and do that to his family.Never did he think his Dad would try and kill them because of the breakdown of his marriage...





	Sink or Swim

**Author's Note:**

> I don't think I need to say this, but I will anyway... Don't send my work to ANYONE infiltrated with the boys. This is purely for fandom enjoyment. 
> 
> Much love... X

 

* * *

 

Louis was watching the raindrops trickling down the window, the raindrops an accurate representation of his life right now. Ignoring the screams and the shouts that were happening downstairs, Louis closed his eyes and tried to take himself to a better place. He imagined himself on a beach, with his boyfriend, somewhere nice and hot, without a care in the world. Relaxing on a beach, with the sun high up in the sky and blue water to frolic about in. A loud bang downstairs had him curling in on himself tighter, pleading to the god's above to stop whatever was happening downstairs. His bedroom door opened and Lottie and Fizzy rushed in, Fizzy shutting the door behind her. Louis opened his arms and cuddled his sisters close to him. 'It's going to be okay.' He gently kissed their heads. 'It's going to be okay.' he repeated, trying to convince himself as he spoke.

'What if Dad tries to spilt us up?' Lottie whispered, her voice scratchy from all the crying she had been doing.

Louis closed his eyes. He didn't want think about being separated from his sisters. Daisy and Phoebe had already been taken to Grandma's at their own request, leaving the eldest sisters with Louis. 'It won't come to that. I promise.'

Lottie sniffled and cuddled him tighter. 'Can we get out of here? Go to our friends or something?'

Louis nodded. 'You girls go. I'll stay here and look after Mum.'

The girls kissed his cheek before they let the room, Lottie lingering a little bit before she closed the door behind her. Louis breathed out a sigh before he climbed from his window-seat and headed for his door. The shouts were still going on, as he descended the stairs, waving his sisters off. Taking a deep breath, he flung the living room door open, anger evident on his face. 'Will both of you shut the fuck up? In case you've forgotten, two of your kids are living at Grandma's because they can't stand you both fighting. If you don't love each other anymore, rip the bandage off and end this toxic mess before it escalates into something worse!' Louis shouted, stunning the two adults into silence before, slamming the living room shut and leaned against it, breathing heavily.

Johannah stared at the door, hearing her son muffle a sob behind the dark wooden door. Running hand through her hair, she sighed heavily and sat down on the chair, her head falling into her hands in defeat, while Mark stood near the unlit fireplace, lost in a world of his own.

Behind the door, Louis decided against his previous promise to the girls. He pulled on his Adidas trainers and yanked the front door open, slamming it shut and heading down the garden path. Turning right at the end of his road, he headed towards his boyfriends house. The rain pounded down on him, his jacket getting soaked as he quickened his steps. It wasn't that long after that he arrived at his destination, soaking wet and shivering violently. Knocking on the front door, he waited until it flew open, Harry's mouth dropping open.

'Louis, are you-' Harry shook his head and reached for his arm, pulling Louis into the warmth of the Styles house. 'Are you mad? Wondering around in this weather?'

Louis let a sudden sob, before he crumbled against his boyfriend. He wasn't even aware he had been crying on the walk over, due to the shivering and the rain. Harry wrapped him tightly in his arms, waving his Mum and sister off with a shake of his head. 'Come on, You go up to my room and I'll make us a cup of tea and I'll bring them up for you...' he said, gently.

Unwrapping himself from Harry, Louis rushed up the stairs to Harry's room, while Harry quickly rushed to the kitchen to make them both a cup of tea, avoiding the questions that Gemma and Anne were trying put forward to him, before he rushed upstairs to his room, finding Louis curled up on his side, facing away from him and crying. Placing the cups on the bedside table, Harry climbed onto the bed and cuddled Louis to his chest.

'Why... Why would they stay together if all they do is scream and shout at each other?' Louis sobbed, clutching Harry's t-shirt as he soaked it with his tears.

Harry rubbed his back comfortingly and cuddled him tightly, knowing exactly what Louis was talking about. 'It's going to be okay. They'll realise it eventually.'

Louis sniffled nosily. 'I fucking hope so, because Daisy and Phoebe have said they aren't coming home until it calms down.'

'It will. And if it gets too much, you know you can always stay here. For as long as you want.'

'Think I might have to take you up on that...' Louis sighed deeply and pressed his face into Harry's chest, pressing a light kiss there and kissing his way up to Harry's lips. Slotting their lips together, Louis climbed up to straddle Harry, kissing him deeply and almost desperately.

Harry's muffled words were lost as Louis took control. Managing to get his hands free, Harry flipped them over smoothly, parting their lips as he did. 'Louis...' he panted, pushing Louis back as he tried tor reconnect their lips. 'I'm not having sex with you when my mother and sister are downstairs! Just wait until they go out tonight and then I'll take your mind off everything...'

Louis looked pained, but he slumped against the pillows of his boyfriends bed. 'Can we watch something then? I don't want to think...' Harry nodded and handed Louis his tea, before reaching for his laptop and firing it up, opening up Netflix and allowing Louis to choose. Settling back into Harry's arms, Louis selected Bad Education, pulling the blanket on Harry's bed up to his shoulders and settled down to watch the first episode...

* * *

 

The sun was low in the sky when the sound of Louis' phone ringing jolted the pair awake, the laptop screen staring blankly back at them. Harry lifted his laptop away from Louis' lap and watched as Louis rolled his eyes at the caller id before he answered the call. 'Everything okay?' he asked, once Louis had hung up, an unreadable expression on his face.

Louis ran a hand through his hair. 'Mum's kicked him out... Like... Actually thrown him out..'

Harry blinked before reaching to grab his jacket. 'Come on, I'll walk you home.'

'She's packing up his things...' Louis told him, as he fastened his trainers back onto his feet and grabbing Harry's hand as they headed down the stairs.

'I'll help you guys, if you want?' Harry suggested, before shouting to Anne than he was going over to Louis'. Heading down the path and out onto the sidewalk, Harry watched as Louis messaged Lottie and Fizzy about what had happened at home, instructing them to stay where they were.

_Don't come home. Stay at your friends until I come and get you. X_

The reply from Lottie was instant. _Why? What's happened? X_

_Nothing bad. Just stay where you are and I'll come and get you later. X_

Arriving at the Tomlinson household, Louis sprinted up the path and through the front door, rushing up the stairs quickly to find his Mum. Harry shut the door behind him and toed off his shoes, before heading up the stairs. Hearing Johannah and Louis in Johannah's room, Harry headed there and knocked gently on the doorframe. 'Need any help, Johannah?' he asked, with a soft smile.

Johannah tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. 'Hi darling.' she smiled warmly at him. 'You could help Louis. Just stuff Mark's clothes, and shoes into bin liners.'

'Is he coming back to get them?' Louis asked, as he ripped Mark's clothes from the coat-hangers and shoved the clothes into the black bin liners.

Johannah shook her head at her son. 'No. I'm dropping them off at his parents. I don't want him in the house anymore.'

Harry walked over to Louis, resting his hand on his back. Louis breathed deeply and handed a black bin liner to Harry, who shook it open and watched as Louis tried to hold it together as he threw his Dad's stuff into the bag. Eventually, after a few hours after packing everything away and re-arranging her wardrobe, Johannah placed the last bin bag in the car and slammed the boot before turning to Louis.

'Everything is going to be okay, now. I promise.' she whispered, cupping Louis' face in her hands, before turning back to the car and slipping into the drivers seat.

Louis watched her go before he allowed himself to break. That was it. His family was officially broken, but he knew in the long run that it would be better. A hand pulling him to a sturdy chest caused him to cry harder. 'That's it. She actually kicked him out.' Louis gasped, as Harry lead them back inside.

'C'mon... Let me take your mind off it...' Harry whispered in Louis' ear, before kissing him deeply. While sex wasn't always the correct way for them both to deal with their problems, it did get Louis to break his emotional walls down, which was good for Harry, as he managed to almost always to get Louis to open up about his feelings, rather than keeping them bottled up. Louis threaded his hands through Harry's hair, before he gripped it tightly as Harry lifted him into his arms and carried him up the stairs towards Louis' bedroom...

* * *

 

After a half hour drive, Johannah pulled up outside of Mark's parents house, where she knew he would already be. She climbed from the car, popping the boot as she did and began lifting the bags of clothes from the boot and throwing them onto the garden path of Mark's parents house. Just as she expected, Mark came out of the house, anger evident on his face. 'What the blazes are you doing?' he shouted, ducking to avoiding a bag of shoes been thrown at him.

Johannah looked up from grabbing the bags in the car. 'What does it look like I'm doing?'

'I could've collected them myself, you know?' Mark argued, dodging a bag of shoes that Johannah launched over the gate.

Johannah laughed, humourlessly. 'Oh really? We would've started arguing and you'd have never left! I've already got two of my children living my parents, I'm not having my eldest ones living there as well.'

'Our eldest!'

'MY eldest!' Johannah told him, fiercely. She stared at him at him darkly, daring him to silently to take her on.

Mark stepped up to the gate and came eye level with her. 'You're only taking my kids away from me if I'm in a body bag!'

'We'll see. It's up to them if they want to see you after what you've put them through.' Johannah spat angrily, before she slammed the boot down and climbed back into her car.

'You'll regret this, Johannah! You'll regret this day! I promise you that!' Mark screamed, as Johannah drove off, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake, as she headed for her parents house to collect her youngest girls...

* * *

 

Over the next few days, life at the Tomlinson household wasn't the best. Daisy and Phoebe had refused to move back home, despite their Mum insisting the arguing was over, while Lottie and Fizzy had been furious when Louis had picked them both up from their friends houses and told them what had happened in the few hours they had been gone. It was definitely safe to say the two eldest girls were clearly struggling with their feelings. They were glad that the everything would slowly start going back to normal, but on the other hand, they were upset because they were terrified they wouldn't get to see their Dad as much as they did already.

Harry knocked on the front door to the Tomlinson house, four days after everything had gone down and the door was almost ripped from its hinges as Louis wrenched it opened and slammed it shut behind him, storming off down the down the path, stress and tiredness etched onto his face. 'Jesus, baby. What wrong?' Harry asked, rushing to catch up as Louis stormed off down the path.

'I can't stand it in that house. The girls are rebelling with Mum and me, demanding to go see Dad and make sure that he's okay. She won't take them, because apparently it's his responsibility to see them, even though he hasn't called or messaged them to make sure they're okay. Daisy and Phoebe are refusing to come home...' Louis raked his hands through his hair. 'I thought everything would all go back to normal...'

Harry pulled his boyfriend to his chest. 'Just give them time. That's all you can do.' he murmured into Louis' hair. Kissing the top of his head, Harry kept his arm curled round Louis' shoulder as they headed to school. The green eyed boy watched as Louis put up his walls and put on a front as he neared their friends.

Niall was the first one to spot them. 'Ayeee! Finally! Was thinking you two weren't going to make it in!'

Harry and Louis stared at the newly brunette hair coloured boy. 'Where the hell has the blonde gone?' Harry asked, running his hand through Niall's hair, just to make sure he wasn't pranking them.

'Decided to have a change.' the Irish one said, ruffling his hair proudly.

'Well, it suits you, Nialler!' Louis complimented, before he thumped Liam on the arm and jumped on his back, demanding Liam piggybacked him into the school, despite Liam's pained groans and complaints.

Reaching their lockers, which were scattered down the same row, the boys chucked their coats and bags inside, keeping the stuff that they'd need for their first two periods with them.

'Oi, Tomlinson!'

Louis froze before he groaned quietly. 'Piss off, Malik!'

'Heard your home life is all broken up.' Zayn sneered. If there was one thing that Zayn knew, was that family, Harry and friends were the only thing that pushed Louis' buttons and got a reaction out of him.

'Shut up and walk away while you still have chance!' Louis threatened, still facing the inside of his locker, to avoid looking at his former best friend.

'Must be hard. Having the twins living at your grandparents, while you're stuck with mummy and them annoying other little brats, you call-'

'LOUIS, NO!'

Louis wasn't even aware he had even moved until Zayn was on the floor with blood pouring from his nose. He barely had time react before Zayn retaliated with a swift punch to his jaw and it wasn't long before a full on brawl started out in the corridor, complete with punches and kicks and colourful threats.

'Louis! Stop!' Harry shouted, before Liam reached out and bodily lifted Zayn from Louis. Harry took his chance and pulled Louis to his feet, holding him back when he went for Zayn again. 'Louis! Enough!' Harry shouted, as he dragged Louis away and towards the bathroom, harshly shooing the freshmen, that were using the sinks, out.

Grabbing some paper towels, Harry wet them before he gently pressed it against Louis' nose. Wincing and apologising, Harry gently dabbed the blood away from Louis' nose. 'Was that needed?'

Lois scowled. 'No one insults my family!' he told his boyfriend, darkly, slapping his hand away from his nose and stepping away from his boyfriend. 'You know that, Haz! So, don't you dare question me about was that needed!'

Harry put his hands up in surrender, just as Liam and Niall entered the bathroom. 'What a punch!' Niall cheered, clapping Louis on the back proudly, while Liam looked unimpressed.

'You're in trouble.' he said, folding his arms across his chest.

Louis rolled his eyes and sighed. 'You know what, after the weekend from hell with my siblings, I couldn't give a shit.'

'Well, the headmaster wants to see you. Now.' Liam told Louis, leaving no room for Louis to wriggle out of going to see the headmaster. Louis sighed and dragged himself from the bathroom, throwing a wave over his shoulder as he left. Niall leaned forward and lifted the bin up for Harry to throw the bloodied paper towel in to.

'How bad was Malik?' Harry asked, as he washed his hands and followed the boys from the toilets.

'Suspected broken nose, but bruises as well. Louis got a good right hook in...'

Harry smirked. 'That's my boy.'

* * *

Louis scrapped his fingernails down Harry's back as he came. 'Fuck...' he groaned, his thighs clenching round Harry's waist before he lowered them back onto his bed. 'I love you...' he whispered, cupping his hands round Harry's face, as they both came down from their highs.

Harry smiled, his fully blown eyes sparkling. 'I love you too...' he whispered back, before he connected their lips again, pressing Louis into the pillows, his fingers tangling in his hair.

Louis' headed tipped back at the firm but gentle grip of Harry' fingers, allowing Harry to attack his neck. 'Mmm... Baby, fuck-'

The door slamming shut downstairs had them freezing on the bed. Louis froze as Lottie's voice floated through the house, appearing to go into the kitchen to grab something from the fridge before leaving the house again with a slam of the door. Louis waited a few seconds before he relaxed with a sigh of relief.

Harry groaned in disappointment. 'Moments gone hasn't it?' he asked, with a pout.

Louis gently patted his head. 'Yeah...' he said, regretfully.

Harry whined before rolling to the side of Louis and pulling him to his chest. 'I don't want to go back to school.' Since Louis and Zayn had both been suspended, Louis was finished with the school for the week, which meant a four weekend for him.

Louis chuckled, basking in the afterglow. 'You have to, baby. Come by tonight. Mum's on a double, I'll send Lottie and Fizzy to their houses for a few hours.' He kissed Harry's chest. 'I'll make it worth it your while... Be as loud as you want.' he whispered into his boyfriend hotly.

Harry bit his lip, flipping over and connecting their lips again. 'Keep talking like that and we won't have to wait until tonight, baby...'

Louis chuckled and yanked his blanket over them, school lunch be damned...

* * *

Anne headed into the hospital cafeteria after her routine check-up, a message from Johannah was on her phone, wanting to meet her on a break form her double shift. Catching sight of her best friend, Anne headed to buy a hot drink, before heading to sit next to Johannah. 'Hey darling. You okay?' she greeted her, with a smile.

Johannah smiled and accepted the hug from her best friend, as she sat down. 'Yeah, how was your appointment?' Johannah asked, taking a sip of her mocha.

'Was fine.' Anne smiled, taking a sip of her cappuccino. 'What's up? You don't normally text me during a shift break unless Louis is sneaking off with Harry somewhere...'

Johannah managed a small smile, before speaking. 'This is a little personal, so tell me to back off... But when, you and Des spilt... How did Harry and Gemma take it?'

Anne raised an eyebrow, surprised that Johannah was asking her about it, when she had witnessed it first-hand. 'Well... Gemma kind of expected it, but Harry was devastated. He rebelled a bit, but he eventually came to realise that sometimes two people are better off apart than together, but that doesn't mean we didn't love them any less...'

'Do you think my lot will realise that? Especially the twins...'

Anne nodded. 'They've been around screaming and shouting for so long, its become normal. Just give them a few more days and reassure them that it's done. They'll see sense, I promise.'

Johannah ran a hand through her hair. 'I hope so. The only one who isn't against me is Louis... He's become the man of the house, yet the girls can't see that it's for the best at the moment.'

Anne clasped Johannah' hand in hers. 'They will. Give it time.'

Johannah smiled and hugged her best friend. 'I think I knew they just need time, but I think I also needed the reassurance...'

* * *

That evening, Louis stepped from the shower, the steam billowing out behind, as he wrapped a towel round his waist and walked back into his bedroom. Stepping over to his mirror, he towel dried his hair roughly, before adding a bit of product in it. Pulling on his boxers, he then pulled on his skinny jeans, wriggling about to get them over his butt.

_Can't wait for our date... Mum will be dropping me off, so I'll be there before you. I love you... H x_

Louis smiled the text message. Never did he expect to find his soulmate at seventeen. Well, at five really, if you count twelve years of friendship beforehand.

_That's fine, baby. See you soon. I love you too. X_

Throwing his phone back on his bed, he touched the love-bites that littered his chest from that afternoon's activities. Harry had only just made it back to school on time, greeted at the front gate by a disapproving Liam and a smirking Niall. Smiling, he tugged on the white button up with a black trimmed colour, leaving a few of the top buttons undone.

Hearing the door go downstairs, he called out to his Mum. 'I won't be a minute, Mum.'

Grabbing his aftershave, he spritzed some onto him, before grabbing his Vans, tugging them on. Grabbing his phone, he double checked his hair, before he winked at his reflection. Gently heading down the stairs, he heard silence from the living room, where Lottie had been since she got home from school. He frowned. 'Lottie?' Heading into the living room, he found it empty and the TV off, which made him frown. It had been on when he had gone upstairs for a shower. He knew she hadn't gone upstairs, because she had to go past his bedroom to get to hers. 'Lottie?' he called out, again.

Heading into the kitchen, he looked around for something out of place, before he noticed the cold tap running. Stepping round the kitchen island, he turned the tap off, before seeing glass shattered on the floor, seemingly having been kicked into a corner on the floor. Slowly lifting his gaze from the floor, he went to turn.

Only for the side of his forehead to connect with edge of the kitchen island, blood pooling on the floor as he lay, darkness overcoming him as he felt his body being moved...

 


End file.
